Hey guys,
New member here, and I just got a 2000 Tracker with 120,000 miles on it a couple of days ago. It's a one-owner that belonged to a friend's mother. She can no longer drive and they just gave it to me instead of messing with the hassle of selling it (I DID offer to buy it, but they insisted). It pays to be nice to people!




As you can see the paint is shot and the plastics have faded quite a bit from sitting in the sun. And the rear sill plate (in the cargo area) needs to be replaced. But it doesn't have a leak anywhere, the interior is pretty much spotless and it pulls like a very small train. Steering is nice and tight and the engine purrs along nicely and shifts smoothly. No mechanical issues at all other than the rear passenger side window not functioning. Every time I drive it I like it more. For a nearly 22 year old car this thing has nothing to apologize for at all.

Got another friend who fiddles with cars for fun who has volunteered to paint it for me. It'll be a metallic gunmetal grey once it gets its makeover. I'll get some paint fo the plastics, too and take care of those while he's respraying the body panels. I'm determined to do right by this little guy. Of course the repainting will have to wait until he has the time and probably won't happen until the world reopens...but it's something to look forward to.

 

Welcome from Florida and good luck with your Tracker. It looks like a nice little truck!

 

Thanks. Changes start this week...I've learned I cannot function without a bluetooth enabled stereo, so that'll be the first mod.

 

Well, not much success with the stereo installation. Mistakes were made. I think I accidentally cut two wires at one time and did something crazy. Anyway, I've got a buddy who will hopefully be able to help me remedy that. In the meantime I decided to rehab the bumpers and exterior trim pieces. I decided to use the heat gun method, and I'll be darned if it didn't work PERFECTLY. Here's a quick shot of it while I was in the process of doing it. You can easily see the difference. Super easy to do, too. Just keep the heat gun moving so you don't melt/warp any of the plastic. Kind of a pain in real tight spots, but taking your time makes it a smooth project,


I'll try to remember to get a shot of it tomorrow with all the plastics visible. I'll do my best to repeat one of my earlier photos so you can see a good A/B comparison.

 

Here's a couple of almost decent daylight shots from this morning. Sorry about the streaking on the front bumper, I got some muddy rain water on it over the weekend and I haven't washed it yet. But I think if you compare the bumpers and door trim now to what they were in the first post, you'll see the difference is pretty dramatic.

 

Thanks to a friend of mine the old crappy stereo has been replaced. Good riddance. That thing was junk.

 

As an aside, and since it's part of "rehabbing" my Tracker, I thought I should mention the Camshaft Position Sensor.

When my Tracker (his given name is Chester) gets hot it doesn't like to start back up once shut down. For instance, if I drive for 15 or 20 minutes and then shut it down, it doesn't like to restart until the engine has cooled for at least 20 minutes. It also has a nasty habit of shutting down if it idles too long. All my research has led me to believe that the Camshaft Position Sensor is the culprit. So, I've ordered a replacement and will install it ASAP, and let you know the results.

Fingers crossed. Aside from a non-functioning rear passenger window and a slightly wonky driver's window, that pesky camshaft position sensor is the only thing wrong with the old boy.

Wait, that's a lie. I had to get a steering wheel cover, too. The original was "delaminating" for lack of a better term, and on hot days it would literally stick to my hands. Pretty gross. So, a $10 steering wheel cover has been installed and is doing a bang-up job so far.

I love this damn truck. Or car. Or whatever it is.

 

jeff, in model year 2000 the Tracker had two engine options: 1.6 L (G16) and 2.0 L (J20). The G16 CMP sensor is a non-adjustable plug and play device. However, the J20 CMP sensor requires a Tracker specific scan tool to lock the PCM ignition timing at 5° before top dead center so you can then use a timing light to adjust the CMP sensor to get 5° at the crankshaft pulley.

 

Thanks for the heads up. Mine's the 1.6, so I'm feeling hopeful. I had no idea that the 2.0 was adjustable.